Filtering structure for swimming pool

ABSTRACT

A filtering structure intended to be incorporated in a vertical swimming pool wall has a filtering device and a pumping device with the pumping device having an electrical part, including an electric motor, and a hydraulic part equipped with a turbine. The filtering structure has a suction port facing towards a nominally horizontal access passageway partly submerged in water, and emerging towards a nominally vertical tank arranged thereunder. The filtering structure has a tank communicating with a nominally vertical column, partly in the upper part of which is arranged the hydraulic part. The electrical part is arranged above the level of the water to be treated and is contained in the nominally horizontal access passageway, while the hydraulic part is immersed in a volume of filtered water.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/491,177 filed Aug. 13, 2004 entitled “Filtering StructureFor Swimming Pool,” now pending, which claims priority of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/FR02/03333 filed on Sep. 30, 2002, andFrench Application No. 01/12635 filed on Oct. 1, 2001. Theaforementioned applications are hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns the field of swimming pool waterfiltration and, more particularly, relates to a filtering structuredesigned to be incorporated in one of the generally vertical walls of aswimming pool.

2. Description of Related Art

A plurality of filtering devices of this type have to date beenproposed. They comprise mainly a portion immersed in the water of theswimming pool, equipped with a suction port and a discharge outlet forwater once it has been filtered. They also comprise filtering andpumping means located outside the pool basin, either at a localitytechnically developed for this purpose at a more or less considerabledistance from the pool basin, or in a space such as a casing, directlyadjacent to the immersed portion.

The pumping and filtering means, such as, for example, sand or cartridgefilters or filtering bags, are interconnected by connecting pipes, thesaid pumping and filtering means allowing the passage of water throughthe connecting pipes. The unit is furthermore connected to a suctionport by way of suction pipes and to a discharge outlet by way ofbackflow pipes.

The presence of these pipes, even if less important when the filteringand pumping device is in the form of a casing, inevitably brings aboutload losses diminishing the performance of the known systems. Theselosses are generally compensated for by using “oversized” pumping means,in particular with regard to the electric motor. Moreover, in the priorart devices, the connecting pipes often pass above the water level,resulting in priming difficulties.

The use of oversized pumping means results of necessity in increasedproduction costs, but also in higher energy consumption and therefore ahigher electricity bill of the owner of a pool equipped with suchdevices.

It is imperative that the pipe unit is perfectly watertight in order toprevent leaks or the intake of air detrimental to the proper functioningof the unit.

Furthermore, the devices whose pumping and electric control means arearranged in an underground location adjacent to or remote from theimmersed portion, are subjected to flooding in case of heavy rains,resulting inevitably in serious damage to the pumping system or imposingconsiderable and costly work in order to carry out gravitationaldrainage at the bottom of the technical location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to overcome the above mentioneddrawbacks.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a filtering structure designedto be incorporated in one of the generally vertical walls of a swimmingpool, comprising filtering and pumping means consisting of an electricpart including in particular an electric motor, and a hydraulic part,equipped with a turbine, the said structure comprising a suction portfacing towards a generally horizontal access passageway submerged partlyin the water and emerging towards a generally vertical tank arrangedthereunder and wherein are arranged the filtering means, for example afiltering bag, the said tank communicating with a generally verticalcolumn, partly in the upper part of which is arranged the hydraulic partof the pumping means.

The main characteristic of this structure resides in the fact that theelectric part of the pumping means is disposed above the level of waterto be treated, contained in the generally horizontal access passageway,while the hydraulic part is immersed in the volume of filtered water.

The generally horizontal access passageway serves as what the personskilled in the art denotes by the Anglicism “skimmer”, meaning that ittreats the superficial layers of a liquid and forming in effect anintegral part of the tank interior.

With the filtering structure configured in this manner, suction pipesare completely dispensed with and the backflow pipes are limited or evendone away with, the volume containing the filtering means being indirect contact with the volume containing the hydraulic part of thewater pumping means.

The disposition in this manner puts a complete end to load losses as aresult of pipes such as those in the prior art and allows theutilization of more economical and less energy-consuming pumping means.

The positioning of the motor above the water level allows to obviatewater-tightness between electric and hydraulic pump parts which arealways difficult to realize and to maintain. Finally, the fact that themotor is positioned in the upper portion of the filtering structurerather than laterally makes the unit more compact and easier to access.

Preferably, the motor is supported by a flange forming part of the upperside of the generally horizontal access passageway.

Also preferably, the electric motor is in a vertical position,substantially normal to the hydraulic part of the pumping means, thetransmission between the said electric motor and the said hydraulic partcoming about with the aid of a generally vertical transmission shafttraversing the generally horizontal access passageway. This dispositionallows in addition good transmission of the torque and the motor speedto the hydraulic part.

However, it is conceivable to place the motor in a horizontal position.Its output shaft will then be normal to the generally verticaltransmission shaft controlling the hydraulic part. The transmission ofthe motor movement comes about conventionally in this case by way ofbevel gears or ring and pinion gearing.

A casing disposed in the access passageway protects the transmissionshaft between the electric motor and the hydraulic part of the pumpingmeans.

With a view to improve the safety of the invention even more, theelectric parts associated with the motor are arranged above the water,in the upper part of the generally horizontal access passageway.

As a matter of fact, these electric parts group together theconventional electric controls of this equipment, i.e., in particular,an on-off switch, a timer etc.

Their accessibility, particularly with regard to maintenance, repair andwinter storage, is made particularly easy by the fact that the electriccomponents are contained in a detachable cassette. The latter may, bythe way, be designed in a manner so as to encompass at least part of themotor body. This feature permits to further improve the compactness ofthe unit.

This cassette may thus readily be removed for placing it into storageduring winter or for repair by simply disconnecting the said electricmotor components, connected by way of fast connections. Repairs may thenbe readily carried out on site or, if necessary, in a workshop or at thefactory.

The electric motor creates, by definition, a certain amount of heatwhich needs to be dispersed, in most cases by means of ventilators.Therefore, the presence of such ventilators is at the origin of seriousnoise problems and increases the space taken up by the motor. In orderto overcome this problem, the electric motor according to the inventionis preferably equipped with cooling means formed by an open circuit.This open circuit encompasses the body of the electric motor, one of itsend sections being immersed in the water, contained in the accesspassageway while the opposite end section is either submerged in thegenerally vertical column equipped with pumping means, the circuitacting in that case in a depressurizing manner, or in the backflowpiping system arranged downstream from the hydraulic part contained inthe said column, the circuit acting in that case in a pressurizingmanner.

As a matter of fact, this circuit takes the form of a coil of thermalconducting material, wherein the water circulates. A system of this typehas the added advantage of being able to recover the calories of theelectric motor in order to return them to the pool basin, acting ineffect like a secondary water heating means.

In addition, it allows to reduce the height of the filtering structure,permitting the aesthetic improvement of the said structure once it hasbeen set up.

Preferably, the hydraulic part of the pumping means comprises an outletconnected by backflow pipes to a backflow outlet laterally offset fromon either side of the suction port according to the hydraulicity desiredfor the pool.

According to another configuration this hydraulic part may comprise twooutlets connected by means of backflow pipes to two backflow portslaterally offset on either side of the suction port. Individual start-upof one of the outlets or of both at the same time also permits to choosethe hydraulicity of the pool.

In this manner the user may, at his/her convenience modify the waterflow in the pool and make the most of the shape of the swimming pool inorder to avoid stagnation zones where the water would not be correctlyturned over.

The invention will be better understood on the basis of the moredetailed specification with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a filtering structure accordingto the invention.

FIG. 2 represents a side elevation thereof in longitudinal section.

FIG. 3 represents a perspective rear view of the said structure.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views from the top, permitting to see in more detailthe constituent elements of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a close-up view showing in perspective the front of thestructure, side of the pool.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the cooling device of the motor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The filtering structure (1) according to the invention is incorporatedin the generally vertical wall (2) of a swimming pool and comprises asuction port (3) partly immersed in the water (4) of the pool basin, thelevel of which is shown in FIG. 2 by an uneven line. Referring to thisfigure, the filtering structure (1) according to the invention alsocomprises filtering means and pumping means (6). The pumping means (6)are composed of an electric motor (7) associated with a hydraulic part(8) composed of a flange (36) in which a turbine (37) is accommodatedand intended for immersion in the water in the course of a filteringcycle to move it. The electric motor (7) drives the hydraulic part (8)by means of a transmission shaft (9) on which the turbine (37) is fixed.In the embodiment shown in particular in FIG. 2, the motor (7) is in avertical position and its output shaft (10) is coupled to thetransmission shaft (9).

The suction port (3) opens towards a generally horizontal accesspassageway (12), likewise partly submerged in the water (4) of the poolbasin. This access passageway (12) is substantially parallelepipedic andits lower side (12 b) includes an aperture (34) emerging towards agenerally vertical tank (13).

This tank (13) comprises filtering means which are explained in moredetail in what follows in the description. It comprises in the lowerportion a lateral inlet (14) facing, via an inlet (35), towards thelower portion of a generally vertical column (15). The latter isoriented parallel to the tank (13). This column acts as suction upstreamfrom the hydraulic part (8) of the pumping means.

According to a different embodiment, the flange (36) of the hydraulicpart may be molded into the body of the filtering structure at the levelof the upper portion of the column (5).

Two outlets are provided at the level of the hydraulic part (8) makingit possible to direct the water flow via two backflow pipes (16 a, 16 b)towards two backflow inlets (17 a, 17 b), laterally offset on eitherside of the suction port (3). During assembly, the user may thus choosethe inlet located on the right or the left-hand side of the port (3)depending on the sense of rotation one wishes the water flow in the poolto have. The user may also choose to use both inlets (17 a, 17 b) at thesame time in order to bring about an “inverse hydraulicity”, i.e. todirect the flow of the backflow towards the bottom of the swimming poolwall opposite the filtering structure so that the same flow comes backto the surface towards the suction port (3).

The filtering structure such as it has been described above permits toobviate, in comparison to the prior art configurations, the suction andconnection pipes between the tank (13) and the column (15) and to limitthe backflow pipes (16).

The electric motor (7) is disposed above the water level and issupported by a flange (30) forming part of the upper side (12 a) of thegenerally horizontal access passageway (12) (see FIG. 2).

The transmission shaft (9), traversing, in effect, the access passageway(12), is protected by a casing (18) disposed between the upper (12 a)and lower (12 b) sides of the latter. This casing (18) further allows toprohibit any water splashing towards the motor (7).

The electric components (19) (see FIG. 1) associated with the motor (7)are likewise installed above the water level in the access passageway(12). These electric components are conveniently positioned in adetachable cassette (20). FIG. 6 by the way shows the filteringstructure (1) with the cassette removed from it.

The cassette (20) is so adapted as to encompass in part the casing ofthe motor (7) (see, in particular, FIG. 5), protruding from it towardsthe top. It may, in addition, comprise in the upper portion a fixed,hinged glass casing (23). This glass casing (23) allows convenientaccess to certain electrical controls of the motor (on-off switch, timeretc . . . ), protecting them against possible water splashes.

According to a variation, not shown, the cassette (20) furtheraccommodates, at locations provided for that purpose, the electricalparts associated with devices such as a heating resistor and/or anautomatic water treatment device, for example an electrolyser, thesedevices being fixed in that case on the cassette and brought intocontact with the water in the access passageway (12), the tank (13)and/or the column (15).

The fact that an electrolyser or a heating resistor may be added to thecassette offers a real advantage compared with the prior art. As amatter of fact, this configuration permits the incorporation into thefiltering structure of new technical devices without being obliged toadd supplementary elements such as pipes, connections or equivalentmeans.

What is attained, therefore, is simplicity of installation of newdevices, the absence of load losses due to pipes and connections and theelimination of the risk of leaks. In addition, the maintenance of theseoptional devices may be performed without having to work on the pipesowing, in particular, to the wide dimensions of the suction column andthe presence of the aperture in the cassette.

A removable lid (24) protects the upper side of the access passageway(12) and makes it possible for the user or a technician to readily gainaccess to the filtering and pumping means.

This lid (24) has a front portion (25) proximal to the pool basin and arear or distal portion (26) granting access respectively to the pumpingand filtering means. The contact zones of these two portions (25, 26)are formed in such a manner that the removal of the front portion (25),protecting in effect the electrical parts of the pumping means, dependson first removing the rear portion (26) (see FIG. 3).

In fact, this configuration of the lid (24) is designed to limit as muchas possible the splashing of water which might occur. Again with a viewto safety, the front portion (25) furthermore comprises a locking latch(27) (see FIG. 4), which can, for example, only be released by means ofa tool such as a screwdriver.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lid (24) is aesthetically perfectly integratedin the pool basin as well as in its immediate environment. For thatpurpose it comprises an outer side whose generally rectangular peripheryhas rounded-off edges and an inclined plane (26 a) connecting anelevated surface to copings (31) arranged along the pool basin and tothe tiling (32) surrounding it.

The electric motor (7) comprises, as already mentioned, cooling means,which may be realized by an open hydraulic circuit (28) (see FIG. 7),taking the form of a coil (29, formed by a small pipe made of thermalconductive material wound around the motor, through which passes thewater of the pool basin. For this purpose, one of the end sections ofthe circuit “bubbles through” the access passageway (12) while the otherend section is situated in the generally vertical column (15) in thepart forming the suction column. The open circuit acts in that case in adepressing manner.

According to a different embodiment, not shown, the open circuit mayhave an end section, immersed in the passageway (12) and its oppositeend section, disposed in the backflow pipes and connections (16)downstream of the hydraulic part (8) of the pumping means (6). The opencircuit acts in that case in a pressurizing manner.

The filtering means which are specially adapted to the filteringstructure (1) of the invention, take the form, for example, of adisposable filtering element (not shown) comprising an exterior bag withstrong filtering power and an interior bag with weak filtering power,the unit being topped by a generally cylindrical hollow piece (5) flaredin the upper section and equipped at its upper end section with a flangecooperating with the aperture (34) of the tank (13) (see FIG. 2).

Alternatively, it is also possible to use a sand filter or one or morecartridge filters, known per se.

The aforegoing description should be considered as an example only ofimplementing the invention, which is in no way exhaustive of the latter.On the contrary, the invention includes all variations in form andconfiguration available to the person skilled in the art.

1. A filtering structure for filtering a liquid having a top surface,the structure comprising: an electric motor disposed above the topsurface of the liquid; a turbine disposed below the top surface of theliquid; a tank having a filtering device; and a generally verticalcolumn adjacent to said tank for receiving filtered liquid from saidtank, wherein said turbine is disposed in the filtered liquid of saidgenerally vertical column and is driven by said electric motor so thatthe liquid is drawn through said filtering device.
 2. The filteringstructure of claim 1, wherein said basin is a swimming pool basin. 3.The filtering structure of claim 1, further comprising a detachablecassette, said cassette including said electric part therein.
 4. Afiltering structure for incorporating in the generally vertical walls ofa swimming pool basin, comprising means for filtering and means forpumping, said means for pumping including an electrical part and ahydraulic part equipped with a turbine, said electrical part includingan electric motor, said structure comprising a suction port facingtowards a generally horizontal access passageway partly submerged inwater, and emerging towards a generally vertical tank arrangedthereunder and wherein are arranged said means for filtering, saidvertical tank communicating with a generally vertical-column, partly inan upper part of which is arranged said hydraulic part of the means forpumping, and wherein the electrical part of the means for pumping isdisposed above the level of the water to be treated, contained in saidgenerally horizontal access passageway while said hydraulic part of thesame means for pumping is submerged in a volume of filtered water. 5.The filtering structure of claim 4, wherein said electric motor issupported by a flange forming one portion of a upper side of saidgenerally horizontal access passageway.
 6. The filtering structure ofclaim 4, wherein said electric motor is in a vertical position,substantially normal to said hydraulic part, and wherein said electricmotor and said hydraulic part have a transmission therebetween that isperformed by way of a vertical transmission shaft traversing thegenerally horizontal access passageway.
 7. The filtering structure ofclaim 6, further comprising a casing arranged in the generallyhorizontal access passageway to protect said transmission shaft.
 8. Thefiltering structure of claim 4, wherein said electric motor has anelectrical component, which is disposed above the water, in an upperpart of said generally horizontal access passageway.
 9. The filteringstructure of claim 8, wherein said electrical component is contained ina detachable cassette.
 10. The filtering structure of claim 9, whereinsaid cassette can encompass at least part of said electric motor. 11.The filtering structure of claim 9, wherein said cassette accommodateselectrical parts associated with a heating resistor and/or an automaticwater treatment device, and wherein said heating resistor and/orautomatic water treatment device are fitted on said cassette and placedin contact with water in said generally horizontal access passageway,said vertical tank and/or said vertical column.
 12. The filteringstructure of claim 4, wherein said electric motor is equipped with meansfor cooling comprising an open hydraulic circuit.
 13. The filteringstructure of claim 4, wherein said hydraulic part comprises an outletconnected via a backflow pipe to a backflow inlet laterally offset oneither side of a suction port according to a desired hydraulicity to beconferred to the pool basin.
 14. The filtering structure of claim 4,wherein said hydraulic part comprises two outlets connected via backflowpipes to two backflow inlets laterally offset on either side of asuction port, the individual operation of one of the two outlets or thesimultaneous operations of two of said outlets permitting the selectionof the hydraulicity of the pool basin.
 15. A filtering structure forfiltering a liquid having a top surface, the structure comprising: apumping means having an electrical part and a hydraulic part, saidelectrical part being disposed above the surface of the liquid and saidhydraulic part being disposed below the surface of the liquid, whereinthe filtering structure is incorporated in a wall of a basin, whereinthe filtering structure is disposed near or is part of a generallyhorizontal access passageway in said wall, wherein said electric part isan electric motor, wherein said electric motor is in a verticalposition, substantially normal to said hydraulic part, and wherein saidelectric motor and said hydraulic part have a transmission therebetweenthat is performed by way of a vertical transmission shaft traversing agenerally horizontal access passageway.